The present invention relates to trailers, containers and other transport vehicles and, more particularly, to the sidewall structure of such trailers, containers or transport vehicles.
Transport vehicles, trailers and containers typically include a cargo space enclosed by a plurality of walls and a roof. Objects needing transport from one place to another are loaded into the cargo space and are protected from rain, snow, ice, dirt, road debris and other elements as well as from theft during transport by the roof and walls of a trailer. The sidewalls and front panel of the trailer commonly include a plurality of aluminum sheet or plate (in thickness above 1/16 of an inch), steel sheet, fiberglass reinforced plywood or other composite material (generally made of metal facings laminated onto plastic or other material) cut and formed into sheets or panels which are attached to each other in series at their opposite side edges. Sometimes the sidewalls will include vertical supports (“posts”) as well as the sheets or panels to provide for strength, stiffness or cargo restraints. The trailer also generally includes at least one door allowing access to the cargo space and often this door is on the rear wall of the trailer. The trailer will also have a roof and floor arrangement which may rely on the sidewalls integrity.
Oftentimes, the objects needing to be transported are stacked on pallets in the cargo space. Sometimes, pallets are stacked in multiple levels either directly on each other or more commonly on platforms supported by cargo restraint systems. The stacked objects may be unloaded from the cargo space using a fork lift or other mechanical device which elevates the objects from the floor. As the objects are lifted from the floor and as they are moved through the cargo space, the objects or pallets may hit or scrape against the side edges of the sidewalls, potentially causing damage to the objects themselves or to the sidewalls and/or roof or contributing to delays in the loading or unloading process.
In the design and construction of trailers and other cargo carriers, it is important to maximize space within the interior of the housing for the purpose of carrying cargo. In that regard, it is desired that the walls of the housing, in particular the internal sidewalls, be as thin as possible so as not to impinge on available cargo space. At the same time, it is important to provide for lateral strength in the sidewall to protect against bulging or deformation of the sidewalls when cargo is loaded or shifts during transit against the sidewall, vertical strength in the sidewalls to carry and support the loads that are placed on the floor and impact resistance in the sidewalls to protect against damage.
In the design and construction of trailers and other cargo carriers, it is also important to protect against unnecessary damage to the housing and to the cargo. For this reason, it is desirable to have a minimal number of protrusions or obstructions in the interior of the sidewall that could catch or snag cargo, penetrate boxes or packing material or provide any type of catch to facilitate damage to the sidewall during loading, unloading or transit.
It is further desired to provide mounting points along the interior of the cargo container for cargo restraint systems and other purposes. Such mounting points may be obtained by incorporating specific cutouts or apertures into the inside surfaces of the trailer. These apertures can be incorporated into vertical logistics posts which are often inserted into the joining means between adjacent panels or by mounting horizontal logistic track in or onto the sidewalls or simply by cutting into certain types of side panels. The strengths of these systems vary, but in all cases space must be provided behind the apertures to allow the bars or straps used to engage.
In trailer sidewalls built with composite panels, the use of offset portions of the panels to form a recessed channel between adjacent panels can be used to allow for some of the space necessary to engage the logistics bars or straps. Additional space has been created in some applications by adding a cap strip or cover at the joining between panels in order to allow the interior surface of the trailer to be maintained at or close to flush at this joining.